Revenge comes with a price Version 2
by Andysaurus
Summary: This version explains away both Billy's and Sullivan's apparent deaths.
1. Hyperion Heights - Roni's

Billy looked around the bar and finally sat down at a table. Not a classy joint, but definitely not gutter class either. The dark haired woman in charge looked pretty no nonsense, so it was probably safe to stay. A waitress asked him what he wanted and he ordered a simple meal; he wanted the last of the cash, drawn from one of Costello's bank accounts a week ago, to last. Why in Hell were the account cards now out of date? One moment he had been hitch hiking along the road to Seattle, the next enveloped in purple fog, and the next he was in this town. He had bought a paper, and found the date 18 years out! He sensed that getting replacement cards might be a problem, on the other hand, if he really had jumped 18 years, would anyone remember him back in Boston? Was this all a bad dream?

There was odd man at the bar who seemed friendly with the proprietor, a one handed guy who had the aura of a cop when he was with other customers; someone to be wary of. There was also a young man who seemed quite familiar with her too, a relative? Then the cop went out to the men's room, and a heavy guy who had been in the shadows came forward and started a conversation with the woman. Soon the dark haired woman was in an altercation with the heavy guy who reminded Billy too much of the late and unlamented Mr French. He instinctively felt anger towards the thug, and memories of everything that he had lost, and why, returned. The talking turned abusive. This angered Billy, and it might also prove a chance to make friends, he really needed a break. The other man / relative? started arguing and Billy recognised that a fight was about to start, one that the young man would not win. The loathing that he had always had for French, most of Costello's gang and Sullivan enveloped Billy.

"Hey bum, take your noisy sodding argument elsewhere, and don't talk like that to a lady" Billy shouted.

"Who says so?" the thug snarled back.

"Me". Billy stood up as the man came at him.

Enveloped in rage, Billy not only pushed at the rushing thug with his hand, by also "with his mind". Instead of the thug just being halted as Billy had intended prior to throwing a punch, the thug was thrown violently backwards and across the room.

Billy was as shocked as everyone else. The thug gradually got up and was pulling a gun, or a knife; this was definitely what Billy had not wanted. However, the woman had recovered her composure. She hissed at Billy "Mister, rage, emotions allow what you just did. Do it again, feeling like you did; just use your arm to guide your mind".

Billy didn't understand, yet it made sense. He thought of Sullivan telling him that he had erased his police employment record and Dignam's betrayal. Then being shot in the head and left for dead by Sullivan's accomplice(?). The rage returned, and he let fly with his mind accompanied by a pushing gesture.

The thug jerked back against the wall, pinned. It was just like something from Star Wars - did Jedi powers really exist? The woman then said "Now disarm him. Use your hands as a guide and think about nice things to fine tune your rage". Billy started to disarm the thug, but it was tiring and he didn't know how to really go about it - and what nice things? Then the cop came back in.

The woman shouted to the cop, "Rogers, that thug is armed, he threated me and Henry. She turned to Billy and whispered "Mister, we need to talk".

Quarter of an hour later and the cop, Rogers had taken the thug away. The woman, along with Henry, came to Billy and introduced herself.

"I'm Roni, and this is ... my son, Henry. You've never done that before, have you?".

"Have you used Jedi powers before?" countered Billy evasively.

"She smiled, "Jedi?, never mind. Before you did that I would have said no, but, somehow, you ... jogged my memory, and the answer is yes. But it creates another question - how did you manage it? Since then I've been trying to do it and getting no where".

Henry counted with "Telekinesis is a mind power, but it needs, err, what astronomers call Dark Energy to do it; others call it magic. On this world that energy is hard to tap, it needs extreme methods - and you did it!".

Billy thought about the implications and cautiously replied "There is a corrupt cop who took everything from me, including my identity and my job when he got my Captain murdered, among other things. Can you explain how a week ago, I was in the middle of nowhere on the edge of Seattle, then there was a purple fog, and I found myself here, but 18 years in the future?".

Roni finally commented "I've got an idea or two that would fit. I know what the fog was - a manifestation of this ... Dark Energy, Magic. It sounds just like The Dark Curse".

"Curse? Why?" asked Billy.

Roni glanced at the clock, "Look" she said impatiently, "you evidently know how to use your hands, and clearly you can tap the hidden magic in this world, somehow. I'm guessing that you are looking for a place to flop down. Looks like I could use some muscle now when the bar is open - free board and meals. OK?".

"OK, and can you train me, in ... magic?


	2. Above Roni's, one month later

A month later and Billy had progressed, somewhat. He had found a little security work at the local school, and learned to access it's library computers. Now he reviewed the situation as he rested with a drink in his attic squat above Roni's.

Whenever he performed some new act of magic or psi powers, whatever, it seemed to jog the memories of Roni - Regina, Henry and Rogers - ?, who had stumbled in on one of his psycokinesis sessions. Rogers had been startled - he had remembered being attacked by a fireball thrown by The Dark One, who he also remembered as a Crocodile! Henry then remembered that Rogers had another name - Hook or Killian Jones. That was truly weird. Still Regina had then been able to school him in pyrokinesis and cryokinesis, though only after a lucky break caused him to move the heat in the tumbler of water elsewhere.

Still, it was all useful, if limited. He reviewed what he could usefully do :

 **1.** Throw, pin down, or disarm an opponent. But the mental cost was immense. Useful option, use the psychokinesis to reinforce his fists and become The Thing, or Darth Vader if he went for the throat.

 **2.** Unlock a lock, although that needed more practice, and he needed to know how the lock worked.  
Throw a (small) fireball, except that it just wasn't worth the effort. Still, he could now burn on contact, and start or douse, a small fire.

 **3.** Freeze a lock solid - possibly very useful. And as metal becomes brittle when cooled, when combined with his psychokinesis, he could probably even smash a safe lock, though it would be a real effort.

 **4.** Electrokinesis, well he had had some luck on his own with trying that. So far all he could do was short out the lights, and make a little of what an internet page said was Ball Lightening.

 **5.** Heal? How had he survived the head shot? He remembered his fury at being shot and his determination not to die. He only vaguely remembered the shooters conversation with Sullivan, then another shot or more being fired. Then he must have blacked out. The medics must have thought that he was dead since he had awoken days later inside a coffin! Oddly, they had taken the time to dress him in a decent black suit. Substituting his body for some bricks, he had made his escape from the police morgue, and then grabbed his stuff from home. Henry had suggested that healing might require something other than just rage. The only thing that he could use were the memories of his time with Maddy, and that was hard. So far all he had been able to heal were his own minor cuts and bruises.

What else was possible he wondered. And what was this place hiding? He needed to learn as much as he could without getting too deeply involved, although getting to know the cop Rogers was to his advantage. They all seemed happy to keep Billy's unfolding abilities secret, just as he was happy to keep theirs. He also sensed a background threat, as did Henry. The local big thugs either belonged to the local property company, controlled by a real Bitch, or had connections with some local Mr Big who Rogers/Jones/Hook had a deep and unyielding fear and loathing of.

The property company seemed hostile to all the small people and businesses, while the local Mr Big was actually a shady detective, who seemed unexpectedly friendly towards Henry. That made Billy suspect that he too might be hiding something, but was it a good idea to try and unlock it? It might be worth the risk. He needed all the help, or knowledge he could get. The Costello stash should still be safe back in Boston, and Rogers was going to help him get information on Sullivan, in return for what Billy knew about Sullivan.

And Maddy? He sighed. Unless he could go back in time that was a no no. As he looked into his glass he thought of her and all the happy times he had had with her. That long ago happiness enveloped him, and as he pictured her the glass he was looking at warped and changed. He was now looking down a far tunnel at a woman who he realised was an older version of Maddy, at a man who was an older version of himself, and at a young boy - who he sensed was His Son! That revelation broke the contact. But he had seen the truth. He needed to talk to Regina about crystal gazing.


	3. Curse ended, on the Boston North highway

As Billy drove away from Boston in his recently bought, nearly new, smallish motor home, he felt elated. And it was not just due to wearing his nice shiny 3 piece business suit and hat disguise.

First the call that he had paid on Dignum, aided by his crude "home made" crystal scrying ball which had tracked Dignum down to New York. It had gone well. Allowing for the fact that Dignum was only borderline sane at the best of times, Dignum was actually apologetic at not being there for Billy, once, that is, he had recovered from the shock of discovering that Billy was back from the dead!

From what little that Dignum could tell him, it looked like the late Detective Brown must have screwed up. Billy could barely believe that Brown was possibly corrupt, but Billy had never rated him in the sharpness stakes either. As for the cop, Barragan, who had tried to kill him after the lift doors opened, it seamed that he was Sullivan's sidekick. Sullivan had claimed that Barragan was the mole and shot him, while Brown had been collateral damage. As Dignam had said that Barragan and Sullivan had been friends, Billy suspected a gagging operation aimed at preserving Sullivan's skin in the long term. The name Barragan had rung a bell somewhere in Billy's memory. In the mean time, Dignum would try to get info on the current antics of the high flying Sullivan. Evidence had reached the Boston Police incriminating Sullivan, however without Billy's direct testimony Sullivan had wriggled out of any serious charges. Dignum had then been puzzled by Billy's request for a lock of his hair.

And that made Billy think about his visit to Maddy and son. It had gone well. After her shock at seeing him, Maddy had explained that she had sent the letter he had entrusted with her to the Police after she had learned about Billy's "death". She had then distanced herself from events because of her former relationship with Sullivan, and the risk that he might realise that Little Billy was not his child. The discovery that Sullivan had been going to marry Maddy had done more than just make Billy's blood boil - it had caused a major power outage, and all manner of electro pyro phenomena. Billy then had to calm Maddy and Little Billy down and come clean about his abilities and his involvement with Sullivan. It also created a possible problem. Because he had been given a potion to make Sullivan's life a living hell, there had been no need to kill Sullivan. And now because of Maddy, killing Sullivan for any reason was an impossibility. Yes, he definitely needed to add Dignum's hair to the potion.

He checked the speed gauge. He didn't want to be stopped by the road cops. His licence was a forgery, made in Halcyon Heights after he had temporarily "extracted" a real Washington car licence from a car, and with Regina's advice, used it as a template to convert ink, paper and plastic into a new one with his face on. While it would hold up to temporary scrutiny, eventually the cops would discover that a duplicate identity was involved, and he did not want them to link that to his motor home, which was filled with Costello's documents for study safely outside Boston.

Eventually he noticed a motel on the right. The next right hand turning should take him to the hidden Storybrook. Then he would see if he needed to use the copy of the Ice Queen's Scroll that he had been given to gain entry. All being well, he would shack up in Granny's B & B and then buy or rent a home from the town's "pawnbroker". He might also have to consider buying extra transport for simple commuting.

Then he would start work untangling Costello's documents and recordings.


	4. Two months later, Boston Police HQ Jail

It was an outrage. That he, Lieutenant Captain Sullivan, should be humiliated in this way, by mere slander! As he fumed, he began to consider the events of the previous day. That bum Costigan was still alive! How! Costigan had been dead and buried! Costigan had claimed to have evidence from Costello's lawyers. Of cause there was that damn recording that Costigan had baited him with a year ago, though he could easily claim it to be a fake.

However, the attack looked well planned, with evidence about himself, Barrigan, and others including FBI agents sent to all of the Boston police captains. The clincher appeared to be the media interview, which he had not seen. Costigan would never have dared to appear in public if he hadn't recreated, or rather cooked up, Costigan's police identity as part of covering himself.

Now there was another loose end: could Dignam be helping Costigan? Why had Dignam returned from wherever and been sniffing around the archives? Of cause, Sullivan cursed. Dignam had been Queenan's right hand man. Costigan had tried to get his help through Brown. He had to know about Costigan, in fact he had probably helped to recruit him. Dignum would know where any additional evidence about Costigan's original police identity would be. And evidence and witnesses about the fake charges dumped on Costigan. He should have kept Dignum under observation after Costigan's "death", instead of trying to let sleeping dogs lie.

He would have to do some creative thinking to muddy the water, in fact denying that Costigan was a cop might be a bad move since he had inventively reinstated Costigan's record. And Costigan could not actually prove that he had deleted Costigan's files anymore than Costegan could prove that he had actually told Costello about Queenan's location - maybe he could blame that on Barrigan. Or maybe he could make out that Costigan was unhinged - he had certainly acted that way. Once trapped in the Nut House, Costigan would be easy to buy off, he sighed aloud.

"You think so? More fool you, you two faced faggot".

Alarmed, Sullivan looked through the bars just in time to see Costigan removing the Shadow Ring from his right ring finger. Billy had found it quite easy to enter the jail. The City library had provided the building plans, his scrying glass had allowed him to view inside, while Dignum had got him a blank police id - though he could have forged one as he had forged the driving licence. Even so, it had been easier just to come in through a fire door and,  
after shorting out some of the lighting. use the Shadow Ring to hide in the less well lit parts of the jail.

Before Sullivan could say anything, Billy raised his hand. Sullivan felt that he was choking.

Billy snarled "You can say whatever you want. Any friends down the corridor don't matter. You are going to pay, for everything. I have something here that will haunt you for the rest of your life. A curse that will last until all that you took from me is returned, my identity, my pay, ... and Captain Queenan". Billy now chose his final words with care "Until you admit to what you told Costello about police operations, and about whatever you told Costello about Queenan's location, the curse will hold. The curse is that whenever you look into a mirror you will not see me, you will see either Queenan's lifeless body until you confess to your involvement in his murder, otherwise you will see me". And every night you will dream that Dignum is coming for you.

Sullivan's throat was then released from the vice like grip. Billy had taken a vial from a pocket. He opened the vial and blew into it - then it glowed! Guided by Billy's left hand, the vial floated into the air, and then floated through the bars towards Sullivan. Billy's right had gestured and Sullivan's mouth was forced open. The vial moved to Sullivan's mouth and the contents flowed down Sullivan's throat! Sullivan felt an electric sensation throughout his body.

Billy could not resist one more aside "Fortunately for you Maddylane still loves you, so I can't kill you even if I wanted to. Maddy is going to marry me, and our son is going to have a better father than you could ever be". Sullivan was quite speechless at that.

Billy continued "That's all for now. See you at the trial".


	5. Fifteen years later, Boston Police HQ

The Chief of Detectives greeted Lieutenant Costigan as he came into the back office. As usual when a lengthy office meeting was needed, Costigan wore a 3 piece business suit with the air of a businessman complaining about corrupt federal tax gatherers. Of cause most of the older cops now knew or suspected that Costigan was still an undercover cop, the important thing had been that non of the new ones did.

The Chief handed Costigan a set of reports, "Look into these will you. No urgency, just drop your reports at the usual place. Three issues. One, you have to drop most of your field work now. I need you in uniform again. I know that being behind a desk supporting undercover operations is not what you want, but it has to be this way. You are the best for the job and Times Are A-Changing".

Billy nodded, he had been expecting this for the last year.

"Second, Sullivan is ready for promotion".

Billy said nothing, while the lights flickered. "Damn power company again" said The Chief. Sullivan had made a good job of confessing, and had got away with blaming Queenan's murder on the conveniently deceased Barrigan. He had then blamed both Barrigan's and Brown's deaths on a mutual shoot-out. Billy knew it was a pack of lies, but proving otherwise was impossible ... well, maybe impossible. So Sullivan had managed to break the curse and had escaped with a light sentence. Eventually after his release from jail, Sullivan had been able to crawl back into the Police Force as a basic cop. But non of the older cops trusted Sullivan. Finally Billy replied "Take advantage of him, let him go on the take - but on a short leash".

"OK," grunted The Chief, "much as it turns my stomach. His wife is as bad as he is".

"Which is why we can make use of him, but only if he is kept on a short leash" replied Billy.

"Yeah", sighed The Chief, "And Third. There is some wako occult group meting in one of the city facilities. I want it checked out. I heard that your daughter was seen with them".

"Sure" Billy answered, "She's that age; fancies herself as The Wicked Which of the West". Billy did not mention that he had been trying to give his children weekend instruction in Storybrook, now that it's curse had just been lifted.

Billy continued "It's ok. My younger son keeps her company, he's still that sort of age too, with a small interest in psychology. My older boy keeps an eye on both of them. Gets him away from his scientific studies - he wants to train as an astronomer or astrobiologist".

Pausing, Billy continued "Seems that there are some hard scientists who think that psychic phenomena exist and can be explained rationally, so I want the kids to develop their critical faculties. This group are just a load of harmless cranks. The only danger is drugs. However, I heard whispers that there might be a criminal move afoot to take control of such crank groups so I'm keeping an eye on it, I've also asked Maddy to officially advise me". Billy did not mention that the group was a cover for children with real psi ability, and that the danger might be real.

"Ok" said The Chief of Detectives "But starting next week you are back in uniform, Lieutenant. You can use this as your office".

"Yes Chief" Billy replied.


End file.
